Women's Health Archive

The best prevention for bone-thinning osteoporosis begins early — during the first two decades of life, when you can most influence your peak bone mass by getting enough calcium and vitamin D and doing bone-strengthening exercise. If you are over age 20, there's no need to be discouraged. It's never too late to adopt bone-preserving habits.

If you are a man younger than 65 or a premenopausal woman, these five strategies can help you shore up bone strength as a hedge against developing osteoporosis.

Cardiovascular problems can conspire to put a damper on sexual enjoyment. Talking to your doctor and your partner can help.

A physical connection with your romantic partner is often an important part of a fulfilling relationship. But when it comes to matters of the heart, the health of your heart matters.

"A satisfying sex life depends on physical health, psychological well-being, and the quality of the relationship," says Dr. Jan Shifren, who directs the Massachusetts General Hospital Midlife Women's Health Center. Heart disease and related conditions can influence all three of those factors in both men and women. Here's a look at the range of those effects and some possible solutions.

Whittle your waist for better health.

You've probably heard that extra pounds around your middle are bad for your heart. But a new study has found that excess weight in your belly — a body shape doctors refer to as central adiposity — may be even worse for women's heart health than men's.

The study, in the March 6 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, involved about 500,000 people (55% of them women), ages 40 to 69, in the United Kingdom. The researchers took body measurements of the participants and then kept track of who had heart attacks over the next seven years. During that period, the women who carried more weight around their middles (measured by waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or waist-to-height ratio) had a 10% to 20% greater risk of heart attack than women who were just heavier over all (measured by body mass index, or BMI, a calculation of weight in relation to height).

Preterm birth joins other pregnancy-related conditions as potential heart risk factors.

 Image: © metinkiyak/Getty Images

Preterm birth has long been known to bring health risks for the baby, but it may also bring risks for the mother. A study in the June issue of Hypertension shows that women who gave birth to a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy were more likely to experience rising blood pressures later on compared to women who delivered closer to term. If they had this pattern, they were also more likely to show signs of coronary artery disease, which is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Because of the unique demands that pregnancy places on a woman's body, it may serve as a stress test for the female heart, says Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School. In the May issue, we talked about how other pregnancy-related conditions — gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia (a type of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), and other pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders — can raise a woman's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Preterm birth should now join that list, says Dr. Manson.

While as many as one in 10 American women is affected by endometriosis, it can take years to get a correct diagnosis because the symptoms may mimic other common conditions. And myths about this condition may keep some women from seeking help.

Maybe you're feeling tired and having trouble concentrating — or perhaps you've noticed changes in your hair or weight, or just feel blah. You might easily attribute these issues to other health problems, or to simply getting older. But these symptoms can be signs of a sluggish thyroid.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck. It produces the hormones that regulate metabolism. Low levels of thyroid hormone can cause a range of symptoms, including fatigue, constipation, dry skin, brittle nails, hair changes, aches and pains, and feeling down. Untreated, an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can increase the chances of developing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Experts say there's little evidence that low-dose aspirin therapy brings benefits, and there are some risks.

In recent years, there's been a lot of talk about the potential benefits, and risks, of a regular regimen of low-dose aspirin. While much of the discussion has centered on whether taking low-dose aspirin can head off cardiovascular disease, some of the focus has also been on breast cancer. Can regular doses of this over-the-counter pain reliever reduce your risk of this common cancer?

For a while there were hints that the evidence was leaning that way. Back in 2017, this area of research, while still inconclusive, was somewhat promising. For example, a 2017 study published in Breast Cancer Research found that among some 57,000 women, those who reported taking low-dose aspirin (81 mg) at least three times a week had a 16% lower risk of breast cancer over all and a 20% lower risk of a specific type of hormonally driven breast cancer.

Research we're watching

If you're looking forward to having some extra downtime after retirement, just make sure it doesn't bring more sitting-down time. A study published online Nov. 17, 2020, by the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that on average, women saw a sharp increase in sedentary time — more than an additional 20 minutes each day — after they retired compared with when they were working. This is an unhealthy pattern that can lead to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers identified this trend by looking at data on nearly 700 people (nearly 85% of them women) from a Finnish study. Most of the participants worked in administrative roles or held professional positions before retiring at an average age of 63. To provide objective measurements of activity, the participants wore activity monitors continuously for a full week during their one or two years both before and after retirement. The spike in sedentary time occurred after retirement, and remained at the reduced level for the next two years or more following retirement. Men, by contrast, saw a gradual decline in their activity level over time, but no sudden spike after they left their jobs. So, if you're retiring in the near future, it may be worth keeping an eye on your activity level to make sure you don't slow down after you leave your job.

The pandemic may be making life harder for those in abusive relationships, but help is available.

A woman experiencing abuse at the hands of an intimate partner often feels isolated and alone. But the truth is, she has a lot of company. As many as one in three women in the United States has experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), which is violence involving a current or former spouse, partner, significant other, boyfriend or girlfriend, says Eve M. Valera, an associate professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. This number includes women from all different ages and backgrounds.

Those who experience IPV may be left with lingering health effects, including mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. IPV is also linked to a number of physical symptoms and conditions, according to the federal Office on Women's Health, such as digestive problems, migraine headaches, arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, sexual problems, and heart problems. Another area of growing concern for many researchers is the potential for cognitive changes caused by traumatic brain injuries linked to abuse, says Valera.